As we prepare for the holiday season, many of us may have traditions that include being with loved ones. For those of us who have experienced the loss of loved ones, changes in the celebrations are marked.
Loss comes in many forms. Dealing with grief and loss is something most people have to do sometime in their lives. Grief is a natural response to the loss of someone or something very dear to us. Losses that may lead to grief include the death or separation of a loved one, loss of a job, death or loss of a beloved pet, or any number of other changes in life such as divorce, becoming an “empty nester,” or retirement. Anyone can experience grief and loss, but each person is unique in how he or she copes with these feelings. Finding our way in new circumstances may be difficult. We may feel “wobbly”, we may not know how to proceed. Grief is real. Grief is powerful. Getting beyond grief is possible.
I’d like to introduce a gifted professional who guides people through grief and loss in this month’s The Living Planner Advisory Perspective Series. Meet Rosie Fox, Owner of Healing Our Hearts.
Rosie Fox has been a certified Drug and Alcohol Counselor for past 25 yrs in Southern California. She has concentrated her work on grief and loss in the addiction field for past 7 yrs at Hill Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center. Her resume is rich; CADAC II, Bachelors in Psychology, and is a certified grief specialist. This wealth of experience and her personal approach is invaluable to one who is mired in the depilating sea of confusion, anger, and depression.
Rosie started her career in psychology and drug addiction in 1986 at California Traffic School counseling adolescent DUI offenders and their families. Then she moved to home for Battered Wives and Children’s shelter, facilitated those who have been affected by domestic violence. Her next endeavor was with chemical dependency counseling, holding positions at Martin Luther Hospital, Anaheim, Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Orange, Twin Town Treatment Center, Los Alamitos, Mariposa Women’s Center, Orange and presently at Hill Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Temecula.
She has had her share of personal loss and early on recognized that those left behind are left with very few resources to recover. Her wealth of experience as mentioned before has enabled her to blend the technical, scientific approach while keeping it close and personal. Welcome Rosie!
Question 1. What do you enjoy about working with your clients?
Their willingness to want to get out of their pain, their tenderness and their HEART!
Question 2. How would you suggest a potential new client prepare for a 1st meeting?
To be real and honest as they can be. There really is no “formal” preparation other than being open to the possibility that they can heal and hope.
Question 3. When someone agrees to become a client, what can they expect immediately? Over time?
They can expect a heart with ears and no judgement, no analyzing, and no criticism. They can definitely expect compassion from me, in a place where they have the freedom to feel what they feel. They can expect over time the ability to feel compassion for self and for others. The ability to be a heart with ears and to be supportive, better help and another griever in their lives.
Question 4. What is your service philosophy?
My service philosophy is to do no harm and to allow people the dignity to recover from grief at their own pace.
Question 5. What resources do you provide to assist “laypeople” with understanding what is being discussed?
I teach classes and workshops on grief recovery. These classes/workshops explain grief in terms of natural and normal reaction to loss and the mistaken belief systems that create barriers in grieving natural and normally. Also I provide guidance about how to respond to others in grief and provide specific tools to help complete emotional feelings that result from those losses.
Bonus Question! If you were to relay one piece of advice to anyone reading this, what would it be?
Time and the ability to just listen can go a long way to help someone in grief. Silence can be “Golden”.
For additional information, Rosie’s website is: http://www.healingourheartsnow.com/home.html
Thank you Rosie for the healing you provide to so many.
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